DC Metro adding two dozen trains for Women’s March

by Melanie Zanona - 01/18/17 12:23 PM ET

Washington’s Metro system will add train service on Saturday to accommodate those attending the Women’s March on Washington, the transit agency announced Wednesday.

The subway will open two hours earlier, beginning at 5 a.m. on Saturday, in anticipation of higher ridership. Metro also plans to add up to two dozen extra trains that day.

Service will be running on an “enhanced Saturday schedule,” with service expected every four to six minutes at all downtown stations. There will be no track maintenance or repair work on any train lines that day.

{mosads}“Many of you spoke about the need for extra service for Saturday, and #WMATA listened!” tweeted Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans.

Many of you spoke about the need for extra service for Saturday, and #WMATA listened! https://t.co/hjLVl6R0oX

— Jack Evans (@JackEvansWard2) January 18, 2017

The transit agency, which has come under fire for unreliable service and safety lapses, will be put to the test this week as visitors pour into the nation’s capital for President-elect Donald Trump’s Inauguration. Preparation for the event has been underway for months.

On Friday, Metro will open one hour earlier, beginning at 4 a.m. The system will operate under rush-hour service until 9 a.m.

Five Metro stations near the National Mall will be closed for security on Inauguration Day: Archives, Mt. Vernon Square, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian and Pentagon.

Notably, transit officials refused to keep the subway open past midnight for Washington Nationals playoff games last fall, as the rail system is undergoing a massive repair effort that entails closing early on weekends.

Although Metro has always maintained it would adjust its schedule for the Inauguration, the Women’s March — which is expecting upwards of 200,000 people — was a grassroots movement that sprang up after Trump won the election.

Tags Donald Trump